A good backup for a small business in Nepal means three copies of your important data, kept in at least two different places, with one copy that a virus or a thief cannot reach. Most importantly, you test it: a backup you have never restored is only a hope. You can set up a working plan in one afternoon, without buying expensive equipment.
For a hotel, trekking agency, shop, clinic, school or laundry, the data is the business: the billing and sales records, guest and booking lists, stock, staff details and years of photos. A stolen laptop, a hard disk that dies after a power fluctuation, or a ransomware message on the counter computer can wipe all of it in a minute. Ransomware attacks on Nepali organisations have been in the news this year, and small businesses are easier targets than banks.
What data does my business actually need to back up?
Back up anything you could not rebuild in a day. Walk around your business and list where data really lives. For most owners it is:
- The billing, POS or accounting software on the counter or office computer, including its database file.
- Booking and customer records: spreadsheets, a booking system, guest registers, patient or student records.
- Documents: PAN/VAT papers, contracts, staff files, supplier lists and price lists.
- Photos and marketing material for your website, Facebook and Google Business Profile.
- Phones: WhatsApp business chats and contacts, if orders and bookings come in there.
- Your website: its files and database, held by your hosting company.
Do not forget the computer that “just runs the billing”. It is often the oldest machine in the building, and the one nobody has copied in years.
What is the 3-2-1 backup rule, in plain words?
It is the simplest plan that survives most disasters:
- 3 copies of the data: the original plus two backups.
- 2 different types of storage, for example the computer itself and an external hard disk.
- 1 copy away from the business, usually in the cloud, so a fire, flood, theft or ransomware attack at the shop does not take everything.
The away copy is the one that saves you from ransomware. Ransomware encrypts every drive it can reach, including an external disk that is plugged in all day. So the external disk should be connected only while the backup runs, and the cloud copy should keep older versions of files, not just the latest one.
Is a backup in Google Drive or OneDrive enough?
It is a good start, but on its own it is not a full plan. Sync folders copy your mistakes too: if a file is deleted or encrypted on the computer, the synced copy can change a moment later. Check that your service keeps file version history and a recycle bin, and learn how long it keeps them. Business software databases also often need to be closed or exported before copying, or the copy may be broken. Ask your software supplier how to take a clean backup of their database.
Step by step: an afternoon backup plan
- Make the list. Write down every place data lives (the list above), who owns it and how often it changes.
- Turn on cloud copies for documents and photos, using a business account protected with two-factor login. Our guide on protecting your business accounts shows how.
- Buy one external hard disk for the main computer and set up an automatic daily or weekly backup. Windows and macOS both have built-in tools for this.
- Unplug the disk after each backup, and keep it in a different room or at home.
- Get a clean export of your billing or POS data. Ask the supplier for the correct method and schedule, and keep exports both on the disk and in the cloud.
- Ask your hosting company whether they back up your website and email, how often, and how you can get a copy.
- Back up phones used for business. Turn on WhatsApp chat backup and contact sync.
- Test a restore every month. Open one old file from each backup. If it does not open, your backup is not working.
- Write one page that says where the backups are and who to call. Keep a printed copy in the office.
How often should I back up?
Back up as often as you can bear to lose. If losing one day of sales and bookings would be painful, back up at least daily. A busy hotel or shop in peak season may need it more often. Documents that rarely change can be weekly. Set the schedule to run automatically; manual backups are the first thing forgotten in a busy week.
How long should I keep backups?
Keep several older versions, not only the latest. Ransomware or a mistake is sometimes noticed weeks later, so a mix of recent daily copies and monthly copies is safer. For accounting, billing and tax records, the legal retention period is set by law. Check the current rule with IRD or your accountant, and make sure your backups cover at least that long.
If your backups include customer data, they need the same care as the original. Our guide to customer data and the Privacy Act 2075 explains why.
What should I do if ransomware hits?
Act fast and calmly:
- Disconnect the affected computer from the internet and the network. Do not switch other computers on and off at random.
- Do not pay before you have checked your backups and taken advice. Payment does not guarantee that you get your data back.
- Check the offline and cloud copies from before the attack.
- Report it to the Cyber Bureau of Nepal Police and keep screenshots of the ransom message.
- Restore onto a clean machine, change passwords, and fix how the attack got in.
FAQ
Is a USB pen drive a good backup? It is better than nothing for a few files, but pen drives fail and get lost easily. Use an external hard disk plus a cloud copy for anything important.
My computer is new. Do I still need backups? Yes. New disks can fail too, and theft, water damage and ransomware do not care how new the machine is.
Do I need a server to do this properly? Most small businesses do not. An external disk, a business cloud account and a monthly restore test cover the basics. Larger teams with several computers may benefit from a small central system.
Who should be responsible for backups? Name one person, and a second person who knows the plan. If only one person knows where the backups are, that is a risk too.
Want help with your backup plan?
We run businesses ourselves, so we know how it feels when the counter computer will not start on a busy morning. As part of our cloud and operations work, we set up automatic backups, restore tests and monitoring, and we can make sure the business software you depend on can be restored quickly. Contact us and tell us what you use today.